Monday, August 13, 2007

Awkward Commercials Are Back

Due to a busy work schedule last night's Seahawks vs. Chargers game was the first NFL preseason game I was able to catch a substantial part of. It's embarrassing to admit that I watched most of a game that does not count but I needed to get my football fix in. I generally dislike the Chargers and Seahawks for obvious reasons. The Chargers because they are in the Broncos' division and the Seahawks because they had to leave the vaunted AFC West before they could win consistently. It's no coincidence that the Seahawks finally became a playoff contender after leaving the AFC West. As I watched the game a few things caught my eye.

1. John Madden is already in mid-season form. He spent a good couple of minutes dissecting the enchiladas he received. I'm sure it is a surprise to nobody that he did a marvelous job. It makes me wonder when he will ever be on a Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray type of show.

2. There were countless shots of the cheerleaders throughout the broadcast. The uniform designers defy all rules of physics with the tops they create. The women are so tantalizingly close to falling out of their tops. It's like a car wreck actually. You just can't take your eyes off of it because you don't know what you are going to see next.

3. One would only have to watch the commercials to know the NFL is back. I sat through a few too many Cialis commercials that made me uncomfortable and embarrassed for the actors.

4. San Diego is my favorite city in California. I love visiting there so seeing the sights of the city throughout the night was awesome.

5. Apparently due to Tony Romo's inability to hold a snapped football on field goals the NFL has its own version of Homeland Security for 'K' balls. There is a completely new way of dealing with balls used for kicking. It's quite a science. As sad as it is, the NFL takes more care in ensuring the 'K' balls are taken care of than the NBA does in ensuring its games are fairly refereed.

6. At one point in the 4th quarter the Seahawks 5th string was making a comeback on the Chargers 5th string. The Seahawks were down two points and got into field goal range. Their kicker missed but the Chargers had 12 men on the field. Thus, the Seahawks kicked again and made the kick. This completely changed the momentum of the game and the Seahawks went on to win by 8. I bring this up because if Marty Schottenheimer can be fired after going 14-2, I think it is time to put Norv Turner on the hotseat after that blunder.

7. They previewed the upcoming September schedule for Sunday Night Football and it nearly put me to sleep. There are way too many games involving teams from the NFC East. It is easily the most boring division in the NFL and their games are painfully boring. Only the Big Ten games on Saturday's compete for being less TV-friendly.

8. Towards the end of the game they showed the spots in Qualcomm Stadium where the team video coordinators shoot from. I will simply say that it was awesome to see that. I had no idea there was such a thing as team video guys. See, you learn something new every day.(Photo of Ben Obomanu from Lenny Ignelzi/AP Photo.)